Derek Chauvin to be sentenced Friday for murder of George Floyd
Al Jazeera
From sentencing guidelines to the likelihood of appeals, here is what you need to know going into Friday’s sentencing.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, US — Thirteen months to the day after George Floyd was murdered on the streets of south Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer who put his knee to Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes, will be sentenced for the second-degree murder conviction he received on April 20. While Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges — second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter — Minnesota law stipulates that he will only be given a sentence for the severest of the three because they all arise out of the same behaviour. Minnesota has statewide sentencing guidelines that determine what are called “presumptive sentences” — essentially recommended sentences for felony offences. Presumptive sentences offer guidelines for two decisions, whether to send someone to prison and for how long. These guidelines are arrived at by pairing a felony conviction with an individual’s criminal history, Brad Colbert, a law professor at St Paul’s Hamline University who practises as a part-time public defender with the Minnesota Public Defender’s Office, told Al Jazeera.More Related News